Ferozepur, December 16, 2017: The credit war among the local politicians over setting up of PGI Satellite Centre, which was sanctioned four years ago during the fag-end of the UPA-II regime, has started. But the ultimate sufferer nearly setting up of PGI Centre are the patients who had to move to distant places for getting medical treatment in the event of the emergency.
Earlier, the PGI centre was to be set up in Ferozepur City, for which the land around 21.5 acres land in the town worth Rs.300 was transferred to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to establish the centre.
The said land in the premises of Industrial Training Institute – ITI – in the city represented by Parminder Singh Pinky, MLA, was inspected by a high-level team of PGI officials besides senior doctors and architects had twice visited the proposed site.
Later on, on the next visit of the team, it was felt that more land would be required and the new site was proposed at the land of Bazidpur Panchayat which falls under the jurisdiction of Ferozepur Rural area represented by Satkar Kaur, MLA.
Kamal Sharma, former Punjab BJP President and National BJP Executive Committee Member, during his recent visit to Ferozepur also expressed his concern over the delay in setting up of the PGI centre. He said, it took more than two years to complete the formalities at various levels for setting the prestigious project in this border town and now with the shifting of its venue, the entire process has to be started from zero.
On asking about the land already transferred to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, he said, the same has to go to back to the original owners.
It looks that the state government is not serious about the project. Instead of joining hands, the politicians are more worried about getting credit for the setting up of PGI Centre than expediting the process at the different levels. Had the site had been finalized on time, the PGI Centre would have been constructed by now. Another PGI Centre sanctioned in Sangrur district after the announcement of such centre in Ferozepur has already started working while in Ferozepur, it is yet to see the light of the day.
As per the sources, the state government was to provide the only land for this centre and rest of the expenditure amounting to Rs.200 crore had to be incurred by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare only.
Whatever may be the reasons behind the delay in setting up this prominent project, may be procedural wrangles, interest of the politicians over the credit war going, as the newly proposed land falls under Ferozepur Rural constituency represented by Satkar Kaur MLA, the ultimate suffer are the critical patients who are referred to Faridkot, Amritsar, Ludhiana or Chandigarh.
Local NGOs Coordination Society represented by Inder Singh Gogia, President was of the view that instead of politics on this important issue; the government should set up the PGI Centre without any further loss of time. He said, in the past, with the spread of Dengue fever, numbers of patients were referred to outstations for treatment in view of their critical condition which has caused a lot of inconvenience to the patients, family members besides extra financial burden on the family.
Another source said, both the time, with the change of venue of the PGI Centre, the landed property nearer the site becomes dearer.